Cast Iron Buttermilk Biscuits

Biscuits from scratch in 20 Minutes

Saturday morning, I slept in until 8:30, went downstairs to the kitchen, and saw a total of 3 bottles of Kate's Buttermilk in the fridge. I called an audible, and made a batch of biscuits from scratch.

I've been using this recipe for years, and the reason I love it is the fact that it has 4 ingredients, can be prepared quickly without much fuss, and makes a batch that perfectly fits inside a standard cast iron skillet - which most home cooks already own. Just make sure you have a clean smooth surface on which to work the dough (cutting board or granite countertop), and you can easily do this yourself.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of flour

  • 5 tbsp of butter, extremely cold

  • 1 tbs baking powder

  • Buttermilk (about a cup) - regular milk will work too

Preparation

  • Preheat oven to 450º

  • Combine flour and baking powder in a big bowl

  • Chop up the butter into very small cubes, and add to flour

  • Add the buttermilk/milk a bit at a time, and mix with a rubber spatula and your hands until the dough begins to fully clump together

  • Work the dough for no mother than 5 minutes - there should be no leftover loose flour in the bowl

  • Ensure that the ball of dough is wet to the touch, but not runny

  • Sprinkle additional flour on your work surface, and put your dough on top of this

  • Flour both sides of the dough

  • Using only your hands, shape the dough into a disc about an inch thick - the final size of the disc should fit inside a cast iron skillet (8" - 10" in diameter)

  • Cut out your biscuits - I use a very small glass to do this - whatever you choose, work quickly

  • Put all the biscuits into a cast iron pan at room temp

  • Place the pan into the oven, and let cook for 5 minutes

  • If you have convection, activate it for the next 5-7 minutes - otherwise just leave it in for about 5-7 minutes